Spousal Coverage Options Fall Victim to ACA

UPS has gotten a lot of press about their decision to exclude from coverage spouses of employees who have primary coverage available through their own employer. But this has been a common planning strategy for years. Why should employers subsidize the cost of coverage for the spouse’s employer? Those plans with rich benefits and lower contributions, in particular, are dependent magnet plans. When a married couple sits down at the kitchen table to review benefit plans, they are obviously going to select the best lowest-cost plan for them. The spousal exclusion makes sense.

In the past, many employers, especially those with generous benefit plans, have been reluctant to adopt a spousal exclusion out of a concern about the quality of benefits available through those spousal plans. Some employers adopted a lighter version, the spousal surcharge, where spouses with available coverage are charged extra if they elect coverage under their spouse’s plan.

About Craig Hasday

Craig Hasday is President of EPIC Northeast Benefits and President of Frenkel Benefits. As part of EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants (EPIC), Frenkel Benefits is one of the largest privately held independent employee benefits brokers in the United States.
Craig is a nationally recognized healthcare leader, who has sat on the national advisory boards of Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna and Anthem; as well as the regional advisory boards of most major carriers. He is currently on the MetLife and GeoBlue national advisory boards, is a legislative group member of the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers and has been appointed to the MetLife National Broker & Consultant Summit. With current and former roles involved in lobbying and advisement on the legislative landscape, Craig is deeply engaged with the issues and intricacies surrounding healthcare delivery. He is an appointee to Governor Cuomo’s Regional Stakeholder Exchange Board and member of the NAHU Principals Council – as a liaison to the White House, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the U.S. Treasury and Congress – to advise on the practical issues associated with healthcare reform.
He has served as legislative chairperson for the New York State Association of Health Underwriters. Craig is also a former board member of the NAHU Education Foundation and has sat on the Global and Domestic Benefit Advisory Boards of Assurex Global. He is on the board of the NAHU Foundation and is a member of the UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation Regional Board of Directors.
Craig was honored with the International Benefits Network’s 2017 Service Excellence Award and selected as a 2015 Power Broker by Risk & Insurance Magazine. He is a frequent speaker on a broad array of issues affecting the insurance industry and is an adjunct professor in the New York University Masters of Human Capital Management Program.
Craig has appeared on CBS, NPR and other news programs as a healthcare commentator and is widely published and interviewed by the media as a benefits expert. As a judge for the 2014 and 2015 Business Insurance Benefit Manager of the Year awards, he contributes his benefits expertise toward selecting this prestigious award’s winner. Craig can be heard on WCBS Newsradio 880 during the daily business report speaking about healthcare and employer strategy in a segment titled, FrenkelySpeaking, which is based on the Frenkel Benefits’ blog.
Craig joined Frenkel in 1992, as the manager of what was then the Life & Employee Benefits department. Under his leadership, Frenkel Benefits has expanded almost twelvefold in revenue, now serving almost 800 clients across the U.S. and globally. Now together with EPIC, Frenkel Benefits is a significant contributor to EPIC’s benefits business.
Craig is a New York State CPA, formerly working in the New York office of a big-four accounting firm. He has experience as an audit and tax professional, chief financial officer and a small business owner. This diverse background brings an in-depth appreciation for the challenges facing clients.

Send us a Question

GET THE WHITEPAPER

Please be aware that this does not represent legal or tax advice and is only Frenkel's interpretation of the laws, regulations and statutes. It is highly recommended that you seek the advice of your legal and tax professional as to the applicability of this information to your particular situation.